Friday, September 7, 2012

The Convention That Could Have Been: What if STL Had Hosted the DNC?

If life in St. Louis is better than it was four years ago, it still ain't got nothin' on the summer of 1916--the last time we hosted the Democratic National Convention.

You might remember that in 2010, St. Louis was a finalist to host the convention that brought 35,000 people to Charlotte, NC this week for the pointlessly symbolic act of nominating Barack Obama to be the Democratic candidate for the November election.
Politicos even said St. Louis might've been the Dems direct runner-up to Charlotte.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be and here we are this week with our lightly trafficked roads and below-capacity hotels. Mayor Francis Slay told the Post-Dispatch this morning that he hopes to lure the Democratic National Convention to St. Louis for 2016.

In another universe, here's what might've happened if the DNC had chosen the Gateway City this year.

McCaskill: I am so glad the convention wasn't in St. Louis!

1.Claire McCaskill would've had to acknowledge that she's a Democrat who agrees with a number of Obama admin policiessomething she's been hesitant to do in right-leaning Missouri during election years. ...like her oft-maligned support of "Obamacare". She skipped the convention in Charlotte this week to campaign at local universities and in red territory, where she rarely mentions Obama's name.
But if the DNC had been hosted in her home state, McCaskill would not have been able to ignore her party's convention. She probably would have been given a speaking role and the inevitable photos with Obama and other high-profile Dems would've wound up in her opponent's attack ads. Ya dodged a bullet, Claire.

via Google Maps

A beautiful traffic map of downtown St Louis on Thursday.

2.Getting anywhere downtown would've been a real b*%$#. Highway closures, road blocks, and security checks were the norm in Charlotte this week. If the DNC had chosen St. Louis they probably would have held convention events at the Peabody Opera House or more likely America's Center Convention Complex downtown. That would've meant Market Street and parts of the 64/40 would've been off-limits. Would've also been tough to pull off a home game against the Brewers tonight.

3. Big money. On the flip side though, for a week of shitty traffic, Missouri might've been $150-200 million the richer. At least that's how Charlotte is expected to fare, according to CNN.